Middlesex General Hospital

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 14, 1978

239 N.L.R.B. 837 (N.L.R.B. 1978)

MIDDLESEX GENERAL HOSPITAL
Middlesex General Hospital and Professional Nurses
and Hospital Personnel, Division of United Paper-
workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC, Pe-
titioner.' Case 22-RC-7586
December 14. 1978
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBIRS JI NKINS
AND PFN EILO
Upon a petition filed under Section 9(c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing
was held before Hearing Officer Robert Cohen of the
National Labor Relations Board. Following the
hearing and pursuant to Section 102.47 of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations
and statements of procedure, Series 8. as amended,
the case was transferred to the Board for decision. A
brief was filed by the Employer.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rul-
ings made at the hearing and finds that they are free
from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board
finds:
i. The parties stipulated that the Employer, a non-
profit corporation engaged in providing health care
services at its New Brunswick, New Jersey, hospital,
is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act and it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to
assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming
to represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of employees of the Employer
within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and
(7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all
full-time and regular part-time 2 technical employees
of the Employer, including employees in the follow-
ing classifications: technologists II and III. cytotech-
nologists, and laboratory assistants (phlebotomists).
The Employer contends that the laboratory assis-
It appears from the record that District 1199J. National i nmon of l[,t -
pital & Health Care Employees. RWDSIJ. AFL. ('10, was permiiied to
intervene in this proceeding. but ii did not appear at the hearing orr tke aii.
positlon on the issues presented herein
2 The parties at the hearing stipulated that regular part-tine emplosees
shall include those employees scheduled hS the Emploier to, work 8 oi Iiire
hours per week In an) 2 of the 8 weeks preceding the .approlpriate date for
eligibility.
tants are not technical employees and should be ex-
cluded from the unit: and although it has refrained
from taking a position on the status of the technolo-
gists II and Ill and the cytotechnologists. it contends
that they may be considered either technical or pro-
fessional employees, which issue should be decided
by the Board.3 The parties have also stipulated to the
appropriateness of a unit of technical employees and
to the inclusion in this unit of employees in various
classifications 4 and the exclusion of other specified
individuals.5
Based on the available record evidence, we make
the following unit placement determinations regard-
ing the employees whose classifications are in dis-
pute, following the Board's established criteria that:
Technical employees are those "who do not
meet the strict requirements of the term 'profes-
sional employee' as defined in the Act but whose
work is of a technical nature involving the use of
independent judgment and requiring the exer-
cise of specialized training usually acquired in
colleges or technical schools or through special
courses. 6
Technologists II and 111: Middlesex General Hos-
pital employs approximately 9 individuals in the clas-
sification of technologist 1I and approximately 17 in-
dividuals in the classification of technologist III in its
laboratory and blood bank. The qualifications re-
quired of employees in these two classifications are
substantially the same.7 and the difference in their
job assignments lies primarily in the fact that, while
employees in both classifications work in all areas of
the laboratory. except histology. specific individuals
Ihe t mploser has requested that the status of these emplosece be con-
,idered In pari matlicrlln uth s.lndalrds set hb the Department of Health.
I .dlctlon i.nd WA\el [are rctgarJdng quahifications for tcchnologists a.nd cyto-
tcc h.hnloglsIs See 42 ( ! R 40' I1 Is h) and (c). It appear', from the record
that inomplilnce llh Ihce 't.andard, on the part of emplosees in these
,.laific.litin', is noit a prerequisite for continued employment with the Em-
ploer Ifurlhermore. it appear tIhat these standards are onls applicable to-
emrlplhee. of independent me-i;cal .lhboratories and not to the I nlphloer's
hosp,tid la hora tors
I hece classlifcatlonl of ernplo)ees stlpulated to he included in the unit
;Ire: A I 'cianner technitlan'. dental hlinic chief dental assistants ;lnd den-
lal assis;ints. se clinic orthoipllss and technicians. laborators technicians
I. hl, lologlsts a.nd hl toloe, technicians. nucle.lr medicine assistant chiefs
and cechnlcians, pulnminlrs chief technicians respirator? therap) techni-
clt.ns. ils.cular lahborators technicians. radiolog) ultra siund technicians
and technilanl.n .nd 1ll licensecd practical nurses
II -cluldc perlson include .l th-se classified .as service and maintlennce
emploees including F - ( technicianns. .K G technlcians. pharnia.c
techniclins a.nd nursing trlurical lechr cians). professional emplosees uin-
cliilint lahobr.liir, clinic.l chcmrn ts. chenist auloanalszers. and bacteriolo-
gx heacd), office clerical emplio ee,. confidential and managerial enmploee,.
stuident (includiin pharniacs interns techniciansL. guards and supervisors
a, defined In ihe Act
%,ihi ai.dl/I ifdifrtlnl Blralc'rt it. r6,-,Il Iiipital 4 ioitonriOn ld h Baarnrl
tulmltrial HrTpitiil ( C'n ir. 217 Ni .RB 775. 777 (1975). qutilng from l. ttin
Ilpiirlui, ,I cllr'[ilnd, Ir trpiratld. 12s NL RB 722. 724 725 (19 5 9).
Ihc sole difference between technologt."s II and lechnologitss III In this
rc.irl is Ihat the former are expecled to hal'e 2 sears of clinical lahorators
experience, hile the latiter are expected iO have 3 se;lrs of such experience
837
DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
classified as technologists 11 are expected to perform
duties in only some of those areas. s Employees in
these two classifications shall, therefore, be consid-
ered as a single grouping, as they perform substan-
tially the same functions, operate the same equip-
ment, and work side by side.
According to job descriptions prepared in June
1976, technologists 11 and III are required to have a
high school education, I year of formal laboratory
schooling, and either 2 or 3 years of experience. In
May 1978, these job descriptions were revised so as
to require technologists to have either a college de-
gree in science or an HEW certification. While it ap-
pears that most of the Employer's present technolo-
gists meet this additional educational requirement,9
several do not. It is uncontradicted, however, that all
future applicants for these positions must meet the
upgraded educational requirements.
The technologists perform tests in several areas of
laboratory work, including blood bank, serology, he-
matology, urine analysis, bacteriology, microbiology,
parisitology, and chemistry. Some of the procedures
are performed manually, whereas others involve a
substantial degree of automation, including the auto-
matic printout of test results. Although some test re-
sults apparently must be interpreted and reports writ-
ten, the record is insufficient to establish whether this
occurs on a consistent basis or only infrequently. Ac-
cordingly, it appears that technologists II1 and II11 do
not meet the strict requirements for professional em-
ployees. In this regard it has been shown that em-
ployees in these positions may, but need not, possess
advanced educational degrees in their specialties."°
Moreover, it does not appear that their work involves
the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in
its performance. We therefore find that employees in
these classifications are technical employees and
should be included in the unit of other technical em-
ployees sought by the Petitioner."
Cytotechnologists: The Employer currently has two
employees working in this classification. According
BThe record also reveals that technologists III occasionally oversee the
work of other employees in the laboratory. The parties, however. have stipu-
lated that this duty is not of such a nature as to render these individual,
supervisors as defined by the Act, and it does not appear that this additional
duty has any bearing on whether they are technical or professional ceiploF-
ees.
9Of the approximately 26 technologists. II have a college degree in a
chemical, physical, or a biological science, and an additional II hase HEW'
certification.
10 We therefore find distinguishable those cases finding technologists to
be professional employees where such employees were required to have
college degrees as a prerequisite to continued employment Mfethodist t Ilipi
tal of Sacramento. Inc.. 223 NLRB 1509 (1976): Children's Hospitaul of Pitrt-
burgh. 222 NLRB 588 (1976): Barnert Memorial Ho.pital (enter. .upra. Ihc
Mason Clinic, 221 NLRB 374 (1975). is in accord with the results herein, as
there only 2 of 54 medical technologists did not possess degrees. In the
present case, less than half of the technologists have degrees.
I William W Backus Hospital. 220 NLRB 414 11975).
to the prepared job description, they are required to
have 2 years of college and be eligible for certifica-
tion by the American Society of Clinical Pathology
(ASCP). These employees are primarily responsible
for conducting tests and making observations in or-
der to determine whether cells are cancerous. Ihe
cytotechnologist prepares a report for the patholo-
gist, who, on a random basis, independently reviews
approximately 15 percent of the cases so prepared.
On the basis of the foregoing, we conclude that the
cytotechnologists are technical employees and
should be included in the unit sought by the Peti-
tioner. St. Elizabeth's Hospital of Boston, 220 NLRB
325, 328 (1975); Mercy Hospital, 220 NLRB 974
(1975).
Laboratory assistants (phlebotomists): Middlesex
General Hospital currently employs 12 individuals as
laboratory assistants. Prior to employment, appli-
cants for this position are not required to have any
prior experience or specific education, aside from
having graduated from high school. They are not re-
quired to be certified, licensed, or registered by any
government or private organization. Their training
consists entirely of that acquired while on the job
and takes no longer than 3 months to complete. The
duties of this position consist of the insertion of nee-
dles into patients and the drawing of blood samples.
During this procedure, the laboratory assistants are
responsible for observing the bleeding and clotting
time of the donor's blood. The equipment used by
the laboratory assistants is relatively simple, consist-
ing primarily of syringes, needles, a tourniquet, and a
receptacle for the samples. In view of the above, due
to the relatively uncomplicated nature of the work
and the short duration of the training period, we con-
clude that the laboratory assistants (phlebotomists)
are not technical employees and should be excluded
from the unit sought by the Petitioner. Pontiac Osteo-
pathic Hospital. 227 NLRB 1706 (1977).
Conclusion
Accordingly, upon the entire record and for the
aforementioned reasons. we shall direct an election
in the following unit which we have found to be ap-
propriate for the purpose of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All full-time and regular part-time technical em-
ployees employed by Middlesex General Hospi-
tal at its 180 Somerset Street, New Brunswick,
New Jersey, location, INCLUDING those em-
ployees employed as technologist II and III, cy-
totechnologists, CAT scanner technicians, den-
tal clinic chief dental assistants and dental
assistants, eye clinic orthoptists and technicians,
838
MIDDLESEX GENERAL HOSPITAL
laboratory technicians I, histologists and histol-
ogy technicans, nuclear medicine assistant chiefs
and technicians, pulmonary chief technicians,
therapy technicians, vascular laboratory tech-
nicians, radiology ultra sound technicians
and technicians, and all licensed practical nurs-
es; BUT EXCLUDING service and mainte-
nance employees (including E.E.G. technicians,
E.K.G. technicians, pharmacy technicians, labo-
ratory assistants (phlebotomists), and nursing
surgical technicians), professional employees
(including laboratory clinical chemists, chemist
autoanalyzers, and bacteriology heads), office
clerical employees, confidential and managerial
employees, students (including pharmacy in-
terns/technicians), guards and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act, and all other employees.
[Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote omit-
ted from publication.]
839